Senior Manager Supply Chain Robotics

Tennant Company; Eden Prairie (MN); On-site; USD 123,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) match

Paid vacation

Full benefits

Job summary

Tennant Company in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area is seeking a Senior Manager, Strategic Partnerships & New Product Development in Robotics to lead the NPD sourcing program and strategic partner relationships that accelerate robotics growth.

The role drives cross-functional governance, negotiates complex contracts, and builds scalable sourcing models across regions while developing talent and ensuring rapid, cost-effective product launches with enterprise value.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree (MBA preferred)
• 10+ years of related work experience
• 5+ years leading and developing teams
• Experience with developing and negotiating complex contracts
• Strong understanding of strategic sourcing, cultural differences, and market dynamics across regions
• Microsoft Office experience – including Excel and PowerPoint

Responsibilities

• Lead NPD sourcing execution across programs, prioritizing activities, resources, and decisions
• Establish governance for NPD sourcing performance, risks, decisions and escalations
• Align with Robotics Venture strategy and own the NPD supply chain process
• Identify, assess and onboard strategic sourced product partners
• Negotiate complex commercial agreements with partners
• Develop scalable partnership models across contract manufacturing and sourced products
• Partner with cross-functional teams to embed make/buy strategies in development
• Lead and develop the NPD Sourcing team and communicate decisions clearly

Skills

Strategic sourcing

Contract negotiation

Leadership & development

Cross-functional collaboration

Excel & PowerPoint

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

MBA preferred

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

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Senior Manager, Strategic Partnerships & New Product Development - Robotics

Pay: $122,600 - $189,700

With more than $1B in revenue, Tennant Company is a globally recognized leader in the cleaning equipment industry. For the past 150 years, we have been passionate about developing and manufacturing innovative and sustainable solutions for our customers. At Tennant Company, we are committed to stewardship and creating a cleaner, safer and healthier world. With manufacturing, operations and sales, service, and support functions across the globe, your journey at Tennant can take you places you never expected.

We are seeking a visionary and highly execution-focused Senior Manager of Strategic Partnerships & New Product Development to lead the team of NPD sourcing professionals who operate with focus and urgency on enabling Tennant's Robotics Venture growth. The individual will develop and manage strategic relationships with stakeholders across departments within Robotics and Core Tennant, and strategic partners to grow our portfolio of Robotics products by communicating with transparency and making timely decisions. This role is accountable for development and management of Robotics NPD sourcing activities including global governance, policy and processes needed to drive speed to market in a highly complex and dynamic environment.

• Tennant Company does not provide employment visa sponsorship for this position, now or in the future.
• Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.
• This role is located in the Minneapolis-St. Paul (Twin Cities) area and is not eligible for remote work.
• Relocation assistance is not available.

Key Responsibilities:

The Senior Manager, Strategic Partnerships and NPD is accountable for NPD supply chain execution and process improvements, sourced products execution and strategic partnership management, talent development and rigorous cross-functional integration:

NPD Supply Chain Execution and Governance

• Lead sourcing execution across NPD programs, prioritizing activities, resources, and decisions based on program requirements, risk, and enterprise value, therefore ensuring critical deliverables to support program milestones and product launches are met.
• Establish visibility and governance for NPD sourcing performance, risks, decisions, and escalations enabling early supply chain risk mitigations and ownership clarity. Act with purpose and urgency to drive sourcing solutions across the organization, respectfully challenge assumptions, make confident recommendations amid ambiguity, advocate for the best enterprise outcome, and remain accountable for results.
• Align with the Robotics Venture long-term vision, strategy and values, own and continuously improve the Robotics NPD Supply Chain process, including sourcing tools, processes, the NPD Sourcing Checklist, and phase-gate requirements, leading to consistent and disciplined sourcing team execution across NPD programs with requirements completed at appropriate phase gates.

Sourced Products Partnership, Execution and Category Management

• Lead or assist in identification, assessment, selection and onboarding of strategic sourced product partners, including market analysis, RFx activities, company assessments, and commercial evaluation that meet product, supply chain and growth requirements
• Lead or assist in developing and negotiating complex commercial agreements covering cost, capacity, quality, delivery, flexibility, and future product-growth requirements with such partners while creating competitive economics, supply continuity, and capacity for future growth.
• Develop scalable partnership and sourcing models across contract manufacturing, private label, sourced finished products, joint ventures, M&A, and other strategic business arrangements to allow Robotics to select and deploy the appropriate business model based on speed, investment, economics, risk, control, and strategic value.
• Own management of Robotics sourced product category by owning end to end lifecycle.

Product and Supply Chain Integration

• Partner with Engineering, Operations, Program Management, and Supply Chain to establish make/buy strategies and embed design-for-supply-chain principles early in product development enabling Product and sourcing decisions optimize manufacturability, supply availability, cost, capacity, and launch readiness while reducing late-stage supply chain risk.
• Drive cross-functional alignment on sourcing strategies by partnering with category management on supplier selections, commercial trade-offs, and significant supply chain decisions ensuring key stakeholders’ accountabilities, enabling faster execution with fewer late-stage changes.
• Partner with Global Strategic Supply and Operations to manage supply-base readiness and performance for new product launches ensuring suppliers meet required cost, quality, delivery, and launch-readiness expectations.

Leadership and Talent Development

• Lead, coach, and develop the NPD Sourcing team to create a high-performing organization that has the capability and accountability required to support Robotics growth.
• Model the Robotics Venture values of Bold, Creative, Decisive, Focused, and Transparent in sourcing and partnership decisions thus creating a team culture that is comfortable operating with greater speed, constructive challenge, transparency, accountability, and willingness to learn and adapt.
• Communicate decisions and rationale candidly, share material successes and failures promptly, and elevate when action is required. Effectively communicate upward in the organization for reporting on key performance indicators and for escalation purposes.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree with MBA preferred.
• Minimum 10 years of related work experience.
• Minimum 5 years’ experience leading and developing teams.
• Experience with developing and negotiating complex contracts.
• Strong understanding of and experience with strategic sourcing, cultural differences, and market dynamics in different regions.
• Microsoft Office experience – including strong Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint experience.
• Demonstrated success initiating change and ability to influence at all levels and successfully navigating ambiguity.
• Confidence in role as an individual contributor and ability to lead through influence.

Posted salary ranges are made in good faith. Tennant Co. reserves the right to adjust ranges depending on the experience/qualifications of the selected candidate as well as internal and external equity. The salary range reflects both entry into the role and future growth. Total Compensation = Base Salary + Benefits

Benefits = A comprehensive benefits package including multiple medical plan options, 401(k) with a 100% match up to 6%, paid vacation time, 8 paid company holidays and 3 personal holidays dental and vision coverage, wellness rewards, robust family support programs, company‑paid disability and life insurance, and a full Employee Assistance Program.

Defining Our Employee Value Proposition

At Tennant Company, we…

Discoverfulfilling work with opportunities for growth and meaningful recognition.
Drivethe quality and innovation our customers rely on in our products and services.
Connectwith people who care about each other, ourbrandsand our communities.

These are the principles that define how our employees experience Tennant Company, make Tennant a great place to grow your career, and are at the core of our legacy and future.Together, they serve as guideposts for working with our customers, our partners and one another.

Begin your journey with us. Let’s reinvent how the world cleans.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Tennant Company is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are made on the basis of individual skill, ability, reliability, productivity, and other factors important to performance. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, physical or mental disability, age, veteran status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, or any other basis protected by state or federal law or local ordinance.